Various methods have been used over the years to transport archery bows to and from locations for shooting archery bows. Archery bow cases have long been used for transporting archery bows. Both hard shell and soft cases are well known. Archery bow cases provide protection wherever the archery bow is being transported.
One major problem with respect to hauling archery bows is that they consume a large amount of interior compartment space when the archery bow is transported inside a vehicle. A bow case holding an archery bow creates a large amount of bulk, particularly hard cases, which consume valuable payload space. Since hunting and camping often go hand in hand, extra payload space is always desirable. If a bow is transported inside a vehicle without using a bow case, the archery bow almost invariably must be placed on top of all other equipment inside the vehicle to avoid damage. Even still, if the equipment shifts during transit, damage to the archery bow can result.
Some efforts have been made to provide archery bow storage devices mounted inside the bed of a typical pickup truck. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,229 discloses a vehicle mounted archery bow holder for mounting to an inside wall of a pickup truck bed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,722 discloses another type of archery bow holder which is also mounted to an inside wall of a pickup truck bed. Such holders require permanent alteration of the vehicle itself, and typically require permanent or at least semi-permanent mounting. Such storage racks impede other potential uses of a pickup truck bed, and may expose the archery bow to damage from other objects inside the truck bed.
Another problem with respect to the transportation of archery bows relates to the need to quickly access the archery bow during hunting. One common method of hunting game animals with an archery bow involves driving back country roads in search of game animals. If such an animal is spotted, the hunter must be able to access quickly the archery bow while exiting the vehicle quickly. One commonly used method to prepare for a road hunting encounter with a game animal is to hold the archery bow between a passenger's legs or on the passenger's lap while the vehicle moves down the road. The approach presents a major problem, however, in that both the vehicle and the archery bow itself are easily damaged. Typically, once a game animal is encountered while driving down a road, little attention is paid to the precise manner in which a bow is removed from a vehicle. Banging and clanking of the archery bow against portions of the vehicle will inevitably result. The alarm a game animal experiences upon seeing a vehicle will be further compounded by such noise. Furthermore, the between-the-legs approach cannot, for obvious reasons, be used by the vehicle operator.
In view of the foregoing problems, there is a need to develop an archery bow rack that can be used in connection with a vehicle to mount the archery bow to an exterior portion of a vehicle so that precious storage space within the vehicle as well as hauling space inside a truck bed can be preserved. There is an additional need to provide an archery bow storage rack that allows either the driver of the vehicle or a passenger to quickly and immediately access a bow for pursuing a game animal observed when driving down a back country road. There is also a need to provide an archery bow storage rack that holds the archery bow without damaging the vehicle or the archery bow, and that requires no permanent mounting to the archery bow.